Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Victoria Grayson

Were I to be a character on ABC's Revenge, I'd want to be Victoria Grayson.

Victoria's not a nice person.

Sometimes the bad things she does can be tied to helping her children or protecting them (Daniel and Charlotte and, third season, Patrick). But sometimes, she's just out right evil and you can't excuse it.

But for me, Victoria is the Dostoyevsky character, haunted by how the love destroys -- the person, the relationship, etc.

With Conrad, she loves and she hates him.

Last season she had Pascal. He's dead. Killed by Conrad.

And dead was David Clarke, dead because of Victoria's refusal to stand by him.

Monday, July 21, 2014. Chaos and violence continue, Christians were
targeted last week, suddenly this week the United Nations and the US
State Dept and Nouri al-Maliki notice, Nouri continues killing
civilians, and much more.

Yesterday at the Vatican, Pope Francis weighed in on the issue of the ongoing persecution of Iraqi Christians. Linda Bordoni (Vatican Radio -- link is text and radio) reports
the Pope's remarks included, "Today our brothers are persecuted, they
are banished from their homes and forced to flee without even being able
to take their belongings!" The Pope declared that violence is not the
way to end violence, that only peace could overcome and triumph over
violence.

What's going on?

Catholic World News notes, "Following an ultimatum from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
(ISIL) to leave Mosul, convert to Islam, or be killed, the city’s
remaining Christians left for other parts of Iraq." Dropping back to Friday's snapshot:

Iraqi thug and prime minister Nouri al-Maliki repeatedly refused to
provide Iraqi Christians in Baghdad with the security needed. This was
most obvious in the October 31, 2010 attack on Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad.
Many Iraqi Christians fled the country. Many of those who stayed
moved to northern Iraq which was considered to be more tolerant of and
welcoming to Christians. BBC News reports
Christians are now fleeing the northern city of Mosul because the
Islamic State has declared that Christians have one of two choices --
"convert to Islam or pa[y] a 'protection tax'." There is the third
choice: Do neither and be slaughtered. They have until Saturday
afternoon to leave, convert or face "the sword."

Christians are said to have now fled the city or to be in hiding in it. AFP reported
over the weekend on Fadi who had decided to remain in Mosul with his
wife and their son because they lacked the money to relocate elsewhere.
As the bulk of Christians fled, landmarks were seized. Mohammad Jamal (Al-Monitor) reports, "Crosses were replaced with IS banners, and all churches were either closed or burned down." AFP adds, "ISIS
militants have taken over a monastery in northern Iraq, one of the
country’s best-known Christian landmarks, and expelled its resident
monks, a cleric and residents said Monday. The fighters stormed Mar Behnam, a fourth-century monastery run by the Syriac Catholic Church near the predominantly Christian town of Qaraqosh, Sunday, the sources said."

Rudaw adds, "According to information obtained from sources by Rudaw, only 200 of Mosul’s 5,000 Christians still remain in the city." And those who did leave? Hamdi Alkhshali and Joshua Berlinger (CNN) explain, "Some of the families headed for Irbil -- which is currently controlled
by Kurdish forces -- and others toward the Dohuk province. The majority
went to Dohuk, which is 140 kilometers (87 miles) north of Mosul."

Nabih Bulos (Los Angeles Times) reports:"For the first time in Mosul's history, there are no services being held
and the church bells are silent on Sunday," lamented William Wardeh,
spokesman for the Hammurabi Human Rights Organization, a watchdog group.
"This is a crime in and of itself."In recent decades, clerics say, conflict, sectarian strife and other
factors have more than halved an Iraqi Christian population that once
exceeded 1 million, including various Eastern Rite sects, both Catholic
and Orthodox. Many worshipers have immigrated to Europe, North America
and Australia.

AP reports
thug Nouri issued a statement on Sunday which decried the targeting of
Christians and "agression against the churches and houses of worship."
Someone's supposed to take Nouri seriously? The man who did nothing to
provide security for the Christians in Baghdad -- let alone in the rest
of Iraq?

Historically, Iraq has long been home to members of the Christian faith.
In fact, prior to the start of the Iraq War (March 2003), it was
estimated that Christians accounted for at least two million Iraqis in
the country. Now the number tossed around is approximately 400,000. Al Arabiya News notes
specific figures with regards to Mosul, "Until their forced exodus over
the weekend, Christians had been continuously present in Mosul for
about 16 centuries."

SANTA ANA, Calif. (July 21, 2014) – Dr. David
Curry, President/CEO of Open Doors USA, has condemned the latest action
of Islamic State militants who ordered all Christians in the Iraqi city
of Mosul to leave the city over the weekend or face execution."The
persecution and treatment of Christians in Mosul is unprecedented in
modern times,” he says. “This latest forced exodus of Christians further
shows why Western governments and the people in the West need to cry
out in support for religious freedom in the Middle East and elsewhere.
If this does not move us concerning the near extinction of
Christianity in the Middle East, it’s likely nothing else can."Rabbi
Yitzchok Adlerstein, Director of Interfaith Affairs at the Simon
Wiesenthal Center, adds: “Too many of us thought that forced conversions
and expulsions of entire religious communities were part of a distant,
medieval past. There was little that we could do to stop this horrible
episode. “It is not too late to realize that many others –
Christians today, but certainly Jews, Baha'i, Hindus, Muslims and
others – are mortally endangered by a potent religious fanaticism that
threatens tens of millions, and which still can be resisted.” According
to Open Doors, the Islamic State gave Christians an ultimatum over the
weekend – 1) stay and convert to Islam 2) pay Islamic tax (which is too
much for most families to pay) 3) leave Mosul taking nothing but their
clothes. Christians who stayed would be executed. Most Christians
have left Mosul now. At the checkpoints of ISIS, Christians had to
leave everything behind (cars, gold, money, mobile phones). The only
possessions they could keep were their clothes. They had to walk to
safer places, mostly in northern Iraq, while traveling in blistering
heat. A World Watch Monitor source in Erbil, the capital of the
Kurdistan region, said a Christian family in Mosul reported by phone
that explosions were heard during the night last Thursday in Mosul. On
Friday, as the family attempted to pass through a Mosul checkpoint, ISIS
agents forced them out of their car and confiscated their belongings
and put them in a separate vehicle. Then the militants drove them
several minutes down the road, and ultimately forced them out to
continue their journey on foot, according to the source.Open
Doors reports that some churches, many in partnership with Open Doors,
have been helping the Mosul refugees. An Open Doors field worker said:
“The exodus has stopped. There are no more Christians in Mosul. We now
need to pray that they might return one day.”Earlier last week,
the Islamic State marked houses belonging to members of minority
communities, including Christians, with the phrase "property of the
Islamic State," including inhabited houses.Iraq is ranked No. 4
on the Open Doors 2014 World Watch List of the worst persecutors of
Christians. For more information on the list, go to www.WorldWatchList.us. For
almost 60 years Open Doors has worked in the world's most oppressive
and restrictive countries, strengthening Christians to stand strong in
the face of persecution and equipping them to shine Christ's light in
these places. Open Doors empowers persecuted Christians in the areas of
Bible and gospel development, women and children’s advancement and
Christian community restoration. Christians are the most persecuted
religious group in the world and are oppressed in at least 60 countries.
To partner with Open Doors USA, call toll free at 888-5-BIBLE-5
(888-524-2535) or go to www.OpenDoorsUSA.org.(To set up an interview or for more information, contact Jerry Dykstra at 616-915-4117 or email jerryd@odusa.org.)

The first wave of ethnic cleansing took place in 2006 and 2007, as Nouri
was beginning his first term as prime minister (spring 2006). So the
idea that Nouri's words were sincere?

AP also notes, "The comments from Nouri al-Maliki come a day after the expiration of a deadline imposed by the Islamic State group calling on Christians in the militant-held city of Mosul to convert to Islam, pay a tax or face death."

An Iraqi leader speaking sincerely would be one who called out the
threats before the deadline for Christians to exit Mosul expired. A
real leader would have stood with the threatened on Friday or Saturday.
Nouri waited to speak until after the bulk of Mosul's Christians had
left the city.

Also weighing in on the threats, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

20 July 2014 – Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon today condemned in the strongest terms the systematic
persecution of minorities in Mosul and other parts of northern Iraq as a
reported deadline passed for individuals to convert to Islam, pay a
tax, flee or face possible execution.
In a statement
from his spokesperson, Mr. Ban, who is currently in the Middle East,
strongly denounced the actions of the group known as the Islamic State
(IS) and its allies.
“Equally repugnant are reports that Turkoman, Yazidis and Shabaks are
facing abductions, killings or the destruction of their property,” Mr.
Ban continued, “and that the homes of Christian, Shia and Shabak
residents in Mosul have been marked.”
He stressed that any systematic attack on the civilian population due to
their ethnic background, religious beliefs or faith may constitute a
crime against humanity, “All armed groups, including IS and associated
formations, must abide by international humanitarian law and protect
civilians living in areas they control.”
Mr. Ban noted that recently “minority communities that have lived
together for thousands of years” in Ninewa province, whose main city is
Mosul, have come under direct attack and persecution by IS and
associated armed groups.
In the past few weeks, tens of thousands of members of ethnic and
religious minority groups have been displaced or forced to flee and seek
refuge, while many others have been executed and kidnapped.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, who visited
Iraq last week to see the conditions facing some of the displaced
families, warned that Iraq risks “full-fledged sectarian war and
complete fragmentation” as Iraqis continue to flee their homes and
minority groups are targeted.
The UN will continue to intensify its efforts, in cooperation with the
Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government, to address the
urgent humanitarian needs, Mr. Ban said, including the minority groups
displaced by terrorist threat.

Al-Shorfa quotes
the Baghdad scholars and preachers council spokesperson Sheikh Shaker
al-Adhami stating, "ISIL is proving day after day that is has nothing to
do with Islam, and that its terrorist leaders who are dreaming about
power and are afflicted with the desire to spill blood and enjoy the
killing of innocent people have exploited [Islam] in the most heinous
way."

A lot of people show up to make statements . . . days after the threat was made public. After the Saturday deadline.

And no one puffs their chests out more and struts around more than the
US government. Hence spokesperson Marie Harf's statements in today's State Dept press briefing:

QUESTION: Iraq. Do you have anything to say about the ISIS campaign to take over churches and expel --MS. HARF: I do.QUESTION: -- monks and the priests from near Mosul and that region?MS. HARF: Yes. Let me see what I have on this. I think I have
something. Let me just check. Yes. And I believe that Jen – we put out a
statement on this late on Friday. But we condemn in the strongest terms
the systematic persecution of ethnic and religious minorities by ISIL.
We are particularly outraged by ISIL’s recent announcement that
Christians in Mosul must either convert, pay a tax, leave, or face
execution in the coming days. These are abominable acts. We are very
clear that they only further demonstrate ISIL’s mission to divide and
destroy Iraq, and they have absolutely no place in the future of Iraq.
We could not be more clear.QUESTION: Just because that is the statement that was released on Friday --MS. HARF: Yeah.QUESTION: -- that you just read, there is no change to it since then?MS. HARF: No.QUESTION: The Kurdistan --MS. HARF: All about consistency here.QUESTION: The Kurdistan government is complaining that they
can’t afford any more to host the displaced people. Is there any –
anything the U.S. --MS. HARF: I can check on that. I hadn’t seen that. Let me check for you, Samir.QUESTION: Is the U.S. able to do anything to limit this ISIS campaign?MS. HARF: The persecution of Christians?QUESTION: Yeah, I mean, to take over the churches and the --MS. HARF: Well, in general, we’ve been very clear that we will
help the Iraqi Government in its fight against ISIL writ large. This is
one part of that fight, certainly. We are working with them now, but I
don’t have anything specific on that for you.QUESTION: But you have --MS. HARF: We’ve also worked very closely with international organizations to address the humanitarian crisis in Iraq.QUESTION: But currently you’re not doing anything?MS. HARF: I can check and see specifically. I just don’t know.QUESTION: Just a follow-up.MS. HARF: Yeah.QUESTION: Yesterday, Michael O’Hanlon of Brookings said that
it’d be impossible to combat ISIS without a few more folks on the
ground. Do you have a reaction to that?MS. HARF: Well, the United – you mean United States folks?QUESTION: Yes.MS. HARF: United States military assessment teams have
provided a draft report. I know my colleagues at the Defense Department
are looking at it to determine the best way to assist the Iraqi
Government. We’re very committed to that. I would leave it to my
colleagues there to talk in further detail about that.QUESTION: And can I ask a question on an unrelated topic?

Senator Patty Murray is the Chair of the Senate Budget Committee and
serves on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. Her office issued the
following today:

FOR PLANNING PURPOSES CONTACT: Murray Press Office

Monday, July 21, 2014 (202)
224-2834

TOMORROW: Murray to Hear from VA Secretary Nominee Robert McDonald

Washington, D.C. – Tomorrow, Tuesday, July 22nd,
2014, U.S. Senator Patty
Murray (D-WA), a senior member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs
Committee will attend a committee hearing on the nomination of Robert A.
McDonald to be Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. At the
hearing, Murray will deliver remarks and question
McDonald on how he would improve trust and transparency at the VA, and
how he would provide oversight of VA facilities in Washington state.